"We need to be the change we wish to see in the world" - Gandhi

During day 6 of our trip, we visited Laurie Baker's residence known as the "Hamlet."  Most of the COSTFORD staff members based in Trivandrum work out of the residence. Baker's wife, Elizabeth Baker, still lives there. Laurie and Elizabeth Baker certainly fulfilled Gandhi's philosophy that "we need to be the change we wish to see in the world."

Milini at "the Hamlet"

Wall flower

View from a terrace at "the Hamlet"

Dog house at "the Hamlet"

After lunch we took a tour of a residence designed by COSTFORD and heard a presentation by the resident, Merle Kindred. Kindred is a Canadian born, American raised scholar who recently moved to Kerala. Her research includes examining communication challenges in regards to energy change. During her dissertation research, Kindred took a trip to India and realized that the people she met here would be the ones who suffer the most from global climate change yet they are not the ones responsible for it. This was one of her motivations for coming to India. She is now an independent consultant and presenter who is helping to get the word out about COSTFORD and Baker.

Merle Kindred's residence designed by COSTFORD

We also visited a rural area and met with local officials of the Aryanad Panchayat (local form of government). They showed us several local initiatives including women's agricultural cooperative, a school (with many eager children waiting to meet us), and a locally run library. 

agricultural site for a local women's cooperative

books at the local public library

On day 7 we visited the Mithraniketan campus. Mithraniketan, which means "Home of Friends," is a grade school and high school. The campus also houses a People's College. The speaker spoke about the importance of sustainable, low-cost, environmentally sensitive architecture. While he sees a positive effect on educating young people about this message, he also has serious doubts. Young architects come to the campus, take up this type of work for a little while, then switch to designing conventional buildings that bring in more profit. During a particularly moving part of his talk, he said "I am helpless. No one will listen to me." While he hopes for a breakthrough in eco-sensitive cost-effective architecture and technologies, he is discouraged. People are starting to live in larger houses even though families are getting smaller. He also spoke about challenges that the school is facing including funding and retention of teachers and social workers who often leave Mithraniketan for higher paying jobs.

Fresh bread at the 'pure veg' bakery

Monkey statue at Mithraniketan

Today I had my first ayurvedic massage and boy was it an experience. The massage was very therapeutic and felt amazing. I definitely felt out of my comfort zone at first as we had to practically strip down in front of a complete stranger! There was a whole lot of coconut oil involved and I came out of the massage looking very shiny! It was very relaxing and any worries or stress that I had just melted away.

on our way to get our massage

logo - oil being poured on a person's head

After the massage, we went to dinner followed by dessert at a local bakery. As most of you probably already know, I have a big sweet tooth so very much enjoyed the bakery excursion. We took a rickshaw back to the hotel for the final thrill of the day. Overall, today was a nice, relaxing day. After all we have been doing this past week it was time to slow down the pace a little. I'm looking forward to the music festival we will be attending tomorrow. Oh, and it will be hosted by the Travancore Royal Family. Hopefully I will get to see the prince!

Baked goods: sweet, fresh, and delicious